New documentation related to working time in Poland

The new regulations provide, among other things, for the obligation to store documents in which working time schedules are provided together with confirmation of their receipt by employees. However, it is not specified what form such confirmation should take, which is why entrepreneurs are already planning for one of the safest forms - handwritten signatures of employees. In the draft regulations, it is stated that in accordance with these provisions, the employer shall maintain records in order to correctly determine the employee's remuneration and other benefits related to his/her work.

What's more, the record will contain not only the number of hours worked each day, but also, among others, the exact distribution of hours in a given day. Previously, such documentation contained only the total number of hours without specifying the details of such working hours.

Documentation of working time records

In the draft regulations regarding employee documentation, issued by the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, the legislator precisely identifies which documents are to be included in the working time records.

• Distribution of working time

Records of working time in Poland shall contain information on the number of hours worked, including the exact time of commencement and termination of work. The documents should also include information related to the number of hours worked during the night. In addition they must also include relevant information about overtime, days-off from work (with the reasoning for their granting), as well information on the number of hours spent while on-call duty, together with details such as the location of the employee while on such duty.

The documentation must also contain information about any leave from work, together with any justifications of such granted leave and the duration thereof. The relevant employee file should also contain information about other, justified and unexcused absences from the workplace. As for juvenile employees (performing work during apprenticeships), only the time of their work needs to be included in the documentation.

• Employee requests/motions

In addition to the documents created for the purpose of determining the working time of the employed person, various employee requests/motions will be stored together with the employee documentation. These will mainly concern the granting of leave from work in order to settle personal matters, requests to establish a work schedule or requests for a shortened work week system as well as requests for a weekend working time system.

• Other documentation

Records of working time will also include documents related to the use of the task-based working time system, as well as other systems under which employees agree, for example, to be prepared to perform their duties outside of normal working hours.

The changes enter into force on January 1, 2019, and from that date employers will have 6 months to implement changes and adapt to the regulations. The changes apply to employees who are employed from January 1, 2019.